Today is deadline for 646 lobbyists to file reports

Secretary of State A. Ralph Mollis is reminding hundreds of lobbyists who represented clients before the General Assembly last year that today is the deadline for filing two important reports.

State law requires legislative lobbyists and their firms and clients to file 2012 Annual Reports and December 2012 monthly reports with the Secretary of State’s office by Jan. 15.

Mollis gives the public access to information about who is lobbying as well as their issues, employers, compensation and clients on his website at sos.ri.gov.

Annual Reports disclose salary, fees, commissions, gifts or anything else of value given to top state officials last year if they totaled more than $250.

Those so-called "major state decision-makers" include judges, legislators and the top staff of state agencies and quasi-public corporations as well as the offices of Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer and Attorney General.

The December 2012 monthly report details lobbying expenses and the issues that are being followed as well as campaign contributions. The reports must be filed through the Secretary of State’s website by 11:59 p.m. Jan. 15.

At the end of 2012, there were 412 legislative lobbyists and 234 executive lobbyists. In 2011, there were 431 legislative lobbyists and 223 executive lobbyists.